England stars to shine bright in IPL

England's cricketers have been offered the chance to play in the IPL after a 15-day window for IPL participation was agreed between the Professional Cricketers' Association and the ECB. The decision could give England's star players, Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, the chance to earn up to 300,000 pounds for a fortnight's work.

The opportunity to participate in the IPL has been a major talking point in the contract negotiations with the ECB, which have been ongoing ever since the 12-man list was unveiled back in September. Now, however, with an auction for new IPL signings set to take place on February 6, the players are set to be available to the franchises for a limited period between April 10 and 25.

This mean that any selected players will be able to take part in the first two weeks of the competition (which runs until May 29) before returning to England for a round of four-day Championship matches that start on April 28 and 29.

We think this is realistic and sensible," Sean Morris, the PCA chief executive, told The Times. "There was some pressure to get back for a four-day game before the Test. The guys understand that and I think they are happy. I would say we are now 99 per cent there."

Flintoff and Pietersen are in line for big-money contracts. Both these star players could command some impressive bids from the top franchises with speculation pointing to bids in the range of 1 million pounds. Although their actual earnings would be nearer 300,000 pounds for a fortnight on a pro-rata basis.